The beauty of a properly cut diamond gemstone derives from the manner in which the cut facets of the diamond reflect and refract light. Diamonds may be cut into many different geometrical patterns which are known in the art as the round cut, oval cut, pear cut, marquis cut, princess cut, emerald cut, etc. The most popular diamond cut is the standard round cut because of its brilliance and optical light handling properties. Although caret weight and clarity are factors which will affect the value of the diamond independent of cut geometry, the most significant value is attributed to its optical properties and color.
A gemologist will refer to the optical properties of a diamond cut using terms of art such as brilliance, scintillation and symmetry. Brilliance and scintillation correspond to the intensity of returned light, and scintillation and symmetry relate to the cut parameters of the diamond and the degree to which the cut facets are aligned. To provide the highest possible level of scintillation with minimal loss in brilliance when analyzed with a brilliance scope, a diamond must possess cut parameters which are as close to perfect as possible. A brilliance scope is currently used by most grading institutes, such as the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) and the American Gemological Society (AGS), for analyzing the loss of brilliance on an ideal cut round diamond. Both of these institutes, among others, specialize in grading the most valuable diamonds and the best cut grades available.
The most valuable round cut diamond with the best cut grade possesses what is known to those skilled in the art as a “true hearts and arrows pattern’. A round cut diamond will invariably display a “hearts and arrows pattern”, but only when the pattern is symmetrically cut will it display a “true hearts and arrows pattern” as known to those skilled in the art. Heretofore, a “true hearts and arrows pattern” could be achieved only in the round cut diamond. The symmetry requirement necessary for the hearts and arrows pattern to be “true” requires the cut diamond, once polished, to possess exacting requirements upon examination by an experienced gemologist using a 100× microscope so that the facets will be perfectly aligned and meet each other at a point. Until the present invention a diamond could not be cut into the princess pattern and provide the true hearts and arrows characteristic of the ideal round diamond.